Means for steering aircraft



Dec. 12, 1939. R. GODDIARD 2,183,311

MEANS FOR STEERING AIRCRAFT Filed Oct. 18, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 B aaa Dec. 12, 1939. R, H GODDARD 2,183,311

MEANS FOR STEERING AIRCRAFT Filed Oct. 18; 1937' 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 j 63 Mes u Bum-o Patented Dec. 12, 1939 UNITED h STATES PATENT OFF-ICE 2,183,311 MEANS Foa sraanmo Amman Robert H. Goddard, Roswell, N. Mex. Application October 13, 1937, Serial No. 169,583 9 Claims. (01. 244-115) This invention relates to the control and direction of flight of an aircraft, and is particularly related to high speed aircraft of the rocket type which are propelled by discharge of gases from a combustion chamber.

It has been heretofore proposed to control the flight of such aircraft by fixed external vanes, or by vanes which are selectively moved into the slip stream of air surrounding the aircraft or nto the rocket blast. Such vanes, if external, have serious air resistance which produces drag and reduces their. steering effectiveness. If internal and movable into the rocket blast, the ef-- ficiency of the blast is decreased.

Moreover, if the speed of the craft varies widely, air vanes tory. If the vanes are large enough to provide satisfactory steering at low velocities, they are too large for use. at high velocities, and if they are of the right size for high velocities, they are too small to be eifective at low velocities.

' It is the general object of my invention to provide improved means for steering aircraft, which steering means will be efi'ective and satisfactory at low, moderate or high speeds, will be independent of the rocket blast in aircraft of the rocket type and equally eflective whether, the rocket blast is in operation or otherwise, and which will permit full streamlining of the aircraft.

More specifically, my invention in its preferred form relates to means for effecting changes in the longitudinal alignment of different longitudinally disposed elements of an aircraft, by which changes in alignment the direction of flight may be controlled.

My invention further relates to arrangements and combinations of parts which will be hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

A preferred form of the invention is shown in the drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a partial side elevation, partly in section, showing my invention embodied in an aircraft which may be of the rocket type;

Fig. 2 is a sectional sideelevation, taken along the line 22 in Fig. 1;

Figs. 3 and 4 are sectional plan views, taken along the lines 3-3 and 4-4 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is adetail elevation of certain stop-adjusting mechanism to be described;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional side elevation of one of the steering devices;

Fig. 7 is a sectional plan view, taken along the line 1-1 in Fig. 6;

of fixed size are found unsatisfacindicated in broken lines in Fig. 1.

Fig. 8 is a partial sectional side elevation showing a modified construction; and

Fig; 9 is a similar view showing a further modification.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 7, I have-shown my 5 invention embodied in an aircraft which mayv be of the rocket type and which has a. body comprising a forwardc'asing ll) of cylindrical shape and a rear casing ll connected to the forward casing III by mechanism to be described.

The rear casing ll preferably comprises a front portion ll which is substantially cylindrical and a tail portion ll which tapers rearward.

The rear casing is adapted to be swung transversely relative to the forward casing in either 15 of two planes which are perpendicularto each other. Such displacement is indicated in dotted lines at H in Fig. 2.

In aircraft of the rocket type, a combustion chamber l2 and nozzle l3 will be mounted within 20 the rear casing II and vanes may be provided for rearward projection to form a point and close the rocket nozzle when the rocket blast is inoperative, as shown and described in my prior Patent No. 1,929,778.

If the craft is not of the rocket type, the tapered part I! may be extended to a point, as The front end of the rear casing II is preferably contracted and curved inward, as shown in Fig. 1, and pro- 3 jects slightly within the rear end of the part Hi.

The manner of mounting the rear casing II on the forward casing 10 for movement relative thereto will now be described. I provide a gimbal ring l5 (Figs. 1, 2 and 3) which is pivoted on 5 two bearing studs I6 (Figs. 2 and 3) which are fixed in the lower ends of arms l1, located at opposite sides of the ring and extending forward within the casing ID to a ring I 8 to which they are firmly secured. The ring I8 is mounted in 40 fixed position in the forward casing Ill.

The .gimbal ring 15 is thusmounted to swing about the axis of the bearing studs l6. Additional bearing studs l9 extend throughthe ring I 5 at diametrical points equally spaced from the bearing studs l6, and the studs l9 are mounted in arms 20 which extend rearward in the casing II and are firmly secured to the internal frame work thereof. I

The rear casing H can thus swing in one plane 5 relative to the gimbal ring I5 and can swing in another plane with the ring l5 and relative to the front casing Ill. The angular position of the rear casing I I relative to the front casing in is controlled by two pull rods 2| pivotally attached 55 to the ring is and by two additional pull rods as having a swivel connection to arms 2| flxed to the frame-work of the rear casing ll. Whenever one or more of the rods 2i or 2} are pulled upwardly, the rear casing II will be correspondingly deflected from normal axial alignment with the front casing III.

Itvis desirable to limit the amount of angular deflection of the rear casin and for this purpose 10 I provide lugs or projections 26 on the lower ends of the pull rods 2i and 23, which projections eng ge stops 21 as they are moved forward to swing the casing ii.- The stops 2! thus limit the deflection of the rear casing. 15 It is desirable that the amount of possible deflection be varied in acco dance with operating conditions, particularly in rocket craft. When the rocket blast is in operation, it produces a very strong propelling force, so that a relatively small angular deflection of the rear casing ii is needed for steering purposes. Furthermore, at the very I high speed produced by the rocket blast, the external slip-stream of air produces an additional corrective force so'that the required deflection 35 of the rear casing will be even smaller. When T the operation of the rocket blast ceases but high speed of the craft continues, the deflection for steering purposes should be somewhat increased but must still be relatively small. Thereafter, as Q the speed is substantially reduced and with no propulsive force, a substantially increased deflection is required to produce a corresponding steer-' ing action.

For convenient adjustment of the stop screws 21, I may provide the construction indicated in Figs. 1, 2 and 6. The screws 21 are mounted in flxed frame elements 28 in the forward casing I8. and are provided with bevel gears Iii connected by'additional'bevel gears Ii and shafts 32 so 49 that all of the adjusting screws may be moved equ lly either toward or away from the projections 28. Convenient means will be provided for thus simultaneously adjusting the stop screws 21, which means may be manually operated or 5 may comprise a suitable speed-controlled or pressure-controlled device.

It is essential that ,the rear casing ll be held accurately in alignment with the front casing l for normal or straight flight, it being assumed so that the center of gravity of the aircraft is substantially in thelongitudinal axis thereof.

I will now describe the control devices by which the casing parts I0 and II are normally maintained in axial alignment and by which the rear 55 part II may be deflected in a desired direction when correction of flight is necessary.

A separate control device is provided for each of the pull rods 2| and 23 and the details of construction of one of these devices is clearly shown 9 in Figs. 6 and '7. A light hollow piston-like member 33 is mounted at the upper end of a metal bellows 34, the lower. end of which is supported by a flxed flanged ring 85 having an upwardly extending tube 36 integral therewith and closed at its upper end. With this construction the air space between the bellows 34 and the tube 38 is small and a minimum amount of air or gas is required to produce substantial expansion of the 70 bellows II, which is thus very rapid in operation.

The member 33 is guided for sliding movement by three rods 31 which are equally spaced angularly andwhich are fastened at their lower ends to the flxed ring" and at their upper ends 7 toaflxedsleeve 30 havingaring andclosed "and" aresecuredtoeachotherindeflnite spaced relation by three tie-rods 41, (Pig. 7) equally spaced and positioned between the rods 81 previously described.

The use -of metal bellows instead of cylinders and pistons is important, as it avoids the use of any lubricant which would become very still in the intense cold of high altitudes.

The disc 4 abuts the upper surface of the 18 member ubutisnotsecuredthereto. Theend of the tube ll forms a stop to limit downward movement of the member 33.

An inlet pipe ll communicates with the interior of the bellows II and a similar pipe ii connects with the interior of the bellows 34. A branch pipe I! similarly connects with the bellows 48. Air or gas pressure is maintained continuouslyinallofthepipesll andinalloftbe bellowsll,sothattheconnecteddiscsfland as are'normaliy pressed downward until the upper discs engage the upper ends of the tubes II which acts as stops. The parts are thus maintained normalyinthe positionshowninrlgs. 1 and 6,with thecasingparts iland ii definitely l0 and axially aligned.

whenitisdesiredtodeflecttherearcasinl II in a given direction, the corresponding operating device is energized by admitting air or gas under pressure through the pipes Ii and II. The as air or gas admitted through the pipe 52 to the bellows ll counteracts the continuous pressure in the bellows 45, so that the bellows l8 and I neutralize each other and leave the associated discs 44 and. free to move upward.

The air or gas admitted through the pipe Ii causes the member 33 to move upward. The member 33 is connected to a yoke 48 (Figs. 6 and 7) by a cross-pin 49, and the yoke ll is connected to the upper end of one of the pull rods 2i or 45 23. In the case of the rods ii, the yoke may be integral with the rod, but in the case of the rods 23 the yoke is pivotally connected thereto as indicated at 48' (Fig. 2) to permit swivelling adjustment. Upward movement of the member I3 50 continues until the projection 26 on the associated pull rod 2| or 23 engages its stop screw 21.

By the operation described, the rear casing ii is swung out of alignment with the front casing III, which deflection causes the aircraft to follow g a curved path until the desired direction of flight is attained or restored.

It is desirable that the deflection of the rear casing ll take place somewhat slowly to prevent over-correction and hunting, and for this rea- 00 son a control valve 53 is preferably provided in the pipe Ill. The valve is may comprise a disc 54 which is normally seated so that air or gas 7 can flow toward the bellows 35 only through a restricted opening in the disc. When the'air or gas is being exhausted from the bellows, however, the discs will be raised thereby, permitting free flow of air out of the bellows.

While one of the control devices is thus operating to raise its connected pull rod and to correspondingly deflect the rear casing II, it is important that the opposite control device shall not oppose this motion. The absence of any flxed connection between the member 33 and the disc 48 of the opposite control device permits its bel- 1g lows 34 to be compressed and its member 33 to be moved freely downward by its pull rod II or" to the position 33' in Fig. 6 as the rear casing I I is swung away from said opposite control device. This condition obtains regardless of the fact-that the correspondingupper disc 44 is under pres-- sure and is in engagement with the upperend of its fixed tube 40. g It will be noted that the metal bellows 34 is 10 longer than the bellows 43 or 45, :and that the member 33 is correspondingly capable of substantially twice as great travel as the members 44 or 66. The forward travel of each member I! is ordinarily limited by its associated stop screw 21? but its extreme forward travel is limited by engagement of the associated disc 48 with the lower end of the adjacent tube 42. Q

When an aircraft is traveling through a fairly dense atmosphere, there will be substantial side pressure on the rear casing H, which side pressure will assist the bellows 45 of the operative control device to proportionately resist deflection of the rear casing and to restore the parts to initial alignment. When, however, a rocket craft 28 is sent to a very high ing force will not be present.

In order that the displacement of the rear casing ll shall be proportional under all con- 30 ditions to the pressure in the operative bellows 34, I provide springs as 55 (Figs. 1 and 2) connectedto the gimbal ring l5. These springs exert slight force on the ring when the casings are aligned but one or more of said springs exert an increasing force as the rear casing is deflected.

The control of the air or gas pressure in the pipes 55 or 52 for steering purposes may be manual in certain types of aircraft, or may be gyroscopic in any type as set forth in my prior Patent No. 1,879,187. Such gyroscopic control apparatus is indicated diagrammatically at 60 in Fig. 6.

In a rocket craft where the fuel storage is in the forward casing l0 chamber in the rear casing ll, flexible fuel pipe connections are required between the two casings, as indicated at 65 in Fig. 1.

In the case of aircraft operating at very high speed, it-is desirable to minimize any abrupt change. in alignment between the forward and rear casings, in order to prevent undue air resistance. This result may be attained by use of the construction shown in Fig. 8, in which a plurality of telescoping segments 61 are interposed between the forward casing l0 and the rear casing H. Each of these telescoping segments may support an axial rod 68 having a ball-shaped end engaging a socket in the top of the next adjacent segment. Springs 69 are interposed between adjacent segments or casing parts to hold all parts normally in axial align-. ment and to equally distribute any angular.

deflection.

If the number of segments 61 is excessive, they may be divided intogroups as indicated in Fig. -9, each group having a separate gimbal ring, as 10 and H, and separate control devices, as 12 and 73.

The use and method of operation of my improved steering means having been set forth in detail in connection with the description of the mechanism, no further statement of operation appears necessary. Particular attention is called to the fact that I have provided effective means for steering an aircraft without the use of vanes elevation where substantially no atmosphere exists,'this external restordirections in each of two and the combustion projecting any element into the into the rocket blast. If desired, however, my improved steering means may be used in association with and in addition to steering or stabil ing vanes of either flxed or movable type.

and without air stream or My improved steering means as here disclosed has been tested in actual flights of rocket craft,

and very satisfactory results have been attained,

the stabilization being far superior to that obtainable by use of vanes.

Having thus describedmy invention and the advantages thereof, I do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, otherwise than as set forth in the claims, but what I claim is:

1. In an aircraft,- a forward casing, a' rear casing, means to. normally align said casings, means to deflect one of said casings from such suohdisplacement in a plurality of directions, and means to simultaneously adjust all limiting positions.

2. In an aircraft, a forward casing, a rear casing, means to normally align said casings, means to deflect one of said casings from such alignment, stops to limit such deflection in both perpendicular planes, and means to simultaneously adjustsaid stops to vary all of said deflection limits.

3. In an aircraft, a forward casing,a rear casing, and a plurality of devices jointly effective to control the relative alignment of said casings, each control device comprising means normally operative to maintain initial alignment, means to change such alignment, and means toineutralize said first means when said second means becomes operative.

4. In an aircraft, in combination, a body portion, a gimbal ring swiveled in said body portion, a rear casing secured to and movable with said ring, a plurality of stops to limit swinging movement of" said ring in different directions, and means to simultaneously adjust all of said stops.

5. In an aircraft, a continuous sectional casing comprising front and rear casing members each forming a substantial longitudinal portion of said casing, means-to normally align said casing members, means operated by fluid pressure and effective to correct the flight of said aircraft by changing the relative alignment of said forward and rear casing members, additional fluid pressure-operated means effective to thereafter restore said casing members to their initial alignment, and a device permitting free flow of fluid from said first-named pressure-operated means but permitting restricted flow only to said pressure-operated means.

6. In an aircraft, a continuous sectional casing comprising front and rear casing members each forming a substantial longitudinal portion of said casing, means to normally align said casing members, means to deflect one of said casing members in onedirection. a-second bellows element normally operative to maintain said forward and prising a bellows-operated element connected to said deflectable casing member anda second element operated by additional bellows to restore said casing members to initial alignment, said first element being effective to move said second element in one direction but being movable in the opposite direction independently of said second element and to a greater extent.

' 9. In an aircraft of the rocket-propelled type, a casing comprising a forward portion and a rear portion which are relatively defiectsble, a combustion chamber and nozzle mounted in said rear portion and providing the entire propelling power for said aircraft, and flight-controlled means to move said rear portion out of alignment with said forward portion and to thereby render the gases discharged through saidnozzle eflec- 15 tive to correct the direction of night of said craft. ,0

ROBERT H. GODDARD. 

